Mark Robert Rank, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis
With low-scoring games and a preponderance of deflected shots, randomness is much more likely to color NHL teams’ records than those of squads in the other four major US pro sports leagues.
Part of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for work modeling Earth’s climate using its chaotic, complex weather. To scientists, chaos lies in the gray zone between randomness and predictability.
For 30 years, sports fans have been told to forget about streaks because the ‘hot hand’ is a fallacy. But a reanalysis says not so fast: Statistics show players really are in the zone sometimes.
A new way to generate random numbers can improve mathematics, cybersecurity and even predictions about the future. How does it work, and what does it mean for us?
The math behind all the probabilities being discussed for tonight’s Powerball drawing assumes each number is equally likely to be chosen. Is that what really happens?